Nigeria edged out the Pharaohs to open Group D action on the perfect note.
Nigeria defeated Egypt with a 1-0 result in their Africa Cup of Nations game on Tuesday. The Super Eagles claimed a crucial victory as they went top of the Group D standings.
Iheanacho makes a difference!
Nigeria started the game with significant dominance as they soon gained possession. For the first twenty minutes, they were not able to create enough chances. However, the Super Eagles started to look more dangerous as soon as their midfielders found their feet.
Following a pass from Joe Aribo, Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring for Nigeria with a stunning strike. The goal came just before the half-hour mark, with Nigeria then defending their lead until the half-time whistle.
Egypt looked slightly better in the second half while they tried to create chances down both flanks. However, Nigeria’s midfield pair of Wilfred Ndidi and Joe Aribo continued their wonderful performance in the second half.
With Egypt’s midfielders losing possession easily, they were unable to create enough opportunities for Mohamed Salah up front. The Liverpool forward had a few chances in the latter stages of the game. However, they were not enough to save Egypt from losing.
The deserved victory takes Nigeria on top of the Group D table. Elsewhere in the group, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau will meet later today.
Nigeria will meet Sudan in their next group stage match while Egypt faces Guinea-Bissau.
Player Ratings
Nigeria: Okoye (6), Aina (8), Omeruo (7), Ekong (6), Sanusi (7), Chukwueze (6), Ndidi (7), Aribo (7), Simon (6), Iheanacho (7), Awoniyi (6).
Bench: Ajayi (5), Nwakali (6), Ejuke (6), Sadiq (5), Iwobi (6).
Egypt: El-Shenawy (7), Fetouh (6), El-Wensh (7), Hegazi (6), Tawfik (6), Fathi (7), Elneny (6), Salah (5), Trezeguet (6), Marmoush (5), Mohamed (6).
Bench: Abdelmonem (6), Sherif (6), Zizo (7), Ashraf (6), Sobhi (6).
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